Cortes The Killer

Herman Cortes is best known for his conquest of the Aztec empire, which decimated an entire population in just a matter of months. He had a "take no prisoners" attitude and had a single focus of taking over the interior of mainland Mexico for the Spanish crown. Cortes came with weapons of war that the Aztecs had never seen before, virtually guaranteeing the Aztecs zero chance of winning. After it was all through, war and the diseases that the Europeans brought over the ocean with them had killed off nearly 75 percent of the entire Aztec population.

Cortes then spent the next few years as Governor of "New Spain" and destroyed the Aztec temples and did everything in his power to convert the native population to Christianity. The ironic thing about this all is that his destroying tactics then led to the building of some of the major cities that Mexico has today.

It is interesting to sit and think about the impact that Cortes and his expedition to Mexico still has today. He is responsible for the decimation of an entire society, yet brought the new world to the old. Thoughts on Cortes and his conquest?